Gatormen
Bipedal reptiles endowed with formidable natural weaponry, 'Gatormen '''are primal hunters who dwell in deep swamps and along remote rivers, dominating any area they inhabit. This race of elusive reptilians has claimed these bogs and marshes as their domain, furiously defending it from the encroaching threat of civilization. The gatormen are incredibly tough, physically powerful, and skillful hunters who have long endured the challenges and dangers of their swamps.Iron Kingdoms Unleashed RPG Core Rules Gatormen have long jaws lined with large, sharp teeth for rending flesh, and their bite has bone-shattering power. Their thickly scaled hide overlays exceptionally dense muscle, providing tough natural armor. A gatorman’s mind is that of a cold-blooded predator always searching for prey to consume. Gatormen can live incredibly long, and they spend the majority of that prolonged life jostling for dominance among their own kind. Ruthless but pragmatic, gatormen will often barter with outsiders who bear offerings. Swamp denizens must placate or otherwise come to terms with local gatorman tribes if they hope to survive. Gatormen do not lightly break their word—whether a promise of safe passage or a vow of vengeance—and are rigid in interpreting such agreements, savagely punishing those suspected of betrayal. Physiology To the untrained eye, individual gatormen of both sexes are remarkably similar in appearance and generally display several traits. An adult gatorman stands seven to eight feet tall and generally weighs between 600 and 800 pounds. It is bipedal and stands on two sturdy legs that end in webbed, four-toed feet. A gatorman’s arms are fairly short for its body size and are equipped with fully prehensile hands that include three taloned fingers and a thumb. The gatorman’s heavy tail provides balance on land and locomotion in the water; it can also be used as a weapon. A gatorman’s head resembles that of the reptile from which its name is derived. Its jaws are heavy and equipped with dagger-like teeth, ideal for grasping prey and holding it in place. Its eyes are set further forward and closer together than base reptilian beasts, allowing for better depth perception. Gatorman sight is similar to Humans but has superior hearing and a sense of smell and these enhanced senses serve them well in the murky depths of the swamp. Gatormen are covered in a thick integument of scales. These scales cover a gatorman from head to toe and are hard enough to turn aside blades and even bullets striking at an oblique angle, thus it is not uncommon for gatormen to have arrowheads, rifle balls, and even dagger blades lodged in their squamous hides.No Quarter #41 Although reptilian, gatormen are not cold-blooded and do not require the sun’s warmth to remain active. Gatormen often prefer to attack their enemies at night, using the darkness and the murky swamp to take their foes unaware. They are also completely at home in the water, and their vision and hearing are both excellent when beneath the surface. Gatormen are not, however, truly amphibious and must hold their breath while submerged, like any air-breathing creature. Gatormen are also known for their extremely long lifespan. If a gatorman does not meet its end through disease, misadventure, or warfare, it can expect to live nearly indefinitely and gatormen over a century old can be seen in tribes and and gatormen as old as two centuries or more are not unheard of, although they are quite rare. Gatormen are obligate carnivores and derive no nutrition from vegetable matter. Their diet typically consists of fish and other reptiles caught in the swamps surrounding their villages. However, gatormen will devour sentient creatures on occasion, especially those trespassing in their territory with whom they have no prior trade arrangements or treaties. Gatormen mate seasonally and like most reptilian creatures, gatormen are oviparous, and a female will generally lay a clutch of six to ten eggs. Eggs are laid in large mounds of earth and vegetable matter that act as incubators.Such mounds require solid ground, which is exceedingly rare in the marsh, and are jealously guarded. Despite being entirely self-sufficient minutes after the egg, gatorman hatchlings display none of the intelligence of the adults. During this period they are extremely vicious . As such, they are kept within their enclosures for a period of six weeks. Generally, two dozen hatchlings are placed in a single winnowing enclosure, and after six weeks, between six and eight of the strongest remain, the weak killed and eaten by the survivors. After this period they begin to develop their intelligence and are fostered out to adult gatormen (both male and female) who rear them for a period of one year. After this time, the young gatorman is expected to survive on its own. Society and Culture Gatorman society is organized into tribes, generally limited to fewer than fifty individuals. Each adult member of the tribe is expected to both hunt and be ready to defend the tribe. A tribe is led by one or more ''bokors, a mystic who acts as a spiritual adviser and an intermediary between his tribe and the powerful spirits of the swamp. These tribes are traditionally independent of one another and seldom cooperate. Indeed, fierce competition between rival tribes when food supplies are scarce invariably leads to bloodshed. Generally, each tribe is led by its most feared bokor. Occasionally, though, an extraordinarily powerful bokor rises to bring multiple tribes together, creating a small fiefdom amid the deepest swamps and marshes. However the rise of Barnabas has caused many tribes to be united under the Blindwater Congregation which has seen many changes include the rise of new priest caste, larger villages with more non-Gatormen as well as the division of labour in Gatormen societies for the first time. No Quarter Prime #3 The typical Gatormen villages are in dark and gloomy swamps, surrounded by high growths of cattails and reeds or built in the shelter of overhanging willow trees. Houses are loosely thatched wide huts of reeds and plants lashed together and partially sealed by daubed plants and mud. Flooring inside the huts usually consists of lengths of dried grasses strewn across the dirt sit upon muddy foundations, with dampness and cold air able to easily seep inside. Outside the huts are simple racks for drying meat constructed of branches tied into a loose lattice, as well as other basic structures such as pens to contain hatchlings.In especially swampy areas, each hut may be an island unto itself; mounds of mud are heaped high enough to rise above the surrounding water and allowed to dry before huts are constructed. Channels of oozing water separate these artificial islets, sometimes deepened to allow gatormen or warbeasts controlled by a village warlock to swim through. Most lack walls but some have rough palisades around their perimeters. Each village is surrounded by countless predators and other perilous creatures lurking in the swamp. huts might be illuminated by smoking torches or small clusters of ritualistic candles, though many residents prefer to remain in darkness. Other races might mistakenly presume these crude villages to be inhabited by less intelligent creatures. The simplicity of gatorman dwellings has nothing to do with their mental sophistication, but rather the fact that their needs are few. Most gatorman tribes are content with primitive shelters and desire nothing more. Furthermore, in the event that a village is destroyed or must be abandoned, it is fairly trivial to rebuild another. All gatormen are fierce and deadly warriors, each quite hardy and all but immune to pain and trivial discomforts. They are as shrewd and intelligent as humanity, yet their bodies are suited to the wilderness, unlike softer-skinned races. Indeed, gatormen do not require clothing or shelter to survive. A naked and unarmed gatorman can sleep unharmed through storm. These vicious hunters are not only adept at carnage but also fiercely protective of their kills. In fact, it is the height of disrespect to consume the flesh of an enemy slain by another. Doing so will invite instant and lethal retaliation or at the very least, a lasting blood feud. Gatormen do not bond with mates and instead males and females coexist in a loosely communal environment, living six to ten to a hut and coming together seasonally for the express purpose of procreation. Just before these seasonal cycles it is not uncommon for members of neighboring villages to intermingle to broaden the mating pool. The most fierce and respected get first choice of mates, with the rest pairing off with whoever remains. Once the eggs hatch, the hatchlings are placed in a specially prepared enclosure to keep them from wandering too far into the water. One or more tribe members keeps watch over the clutch to protect the young from outside danger. Blood relation holds little meaning for gatormen, and they find the familial bonds of other races peculiar. As a gatorman matures he learns the spiritual beliefs of his people even as he learns to hunt and fight. Gatormen believe that devouring others is more than a simple requirement for life; it is an aspect of their connection to their god, Kossk. As a gatorman consumes his prey, he grows stronger not just physically but spiritually, adding the individual’s essence to his own. Combat is also a proving ground, and many young warriors seek out excuses to push themselves to their limits. Contact with outside civilization has prompted little change in this culture. Gatormen rarely attempt to adopt the technological or mechanical advances of other cultures. In most respects, they remain the same tribal people they have been for millennia. They see no need to change. That said, some do collect odd baubles such as pocket watches or hats kept by civilized races, accepting them in trade or saving them as trophies. Those who keep such items superstitiously believe they impart residual spiritual benefits from their previous owners. Gatormen have a verbal language, although to the uninitiated a gatorman’s vocal utterances will likely sound like nothing more than the hissing and growling of a simple beast. This spoken language, which is called Quor-gar, is only one aspect of gatorman communication, however. Body, tail, and head posturing are an important part of gatorman language, and the combination of vocalization and a specific posture are needed to convey complex ideas. Thus, speaking the gatorman language is exceedingly difficult for those without the proper anatomy. Gatormen can learn to understand conceivably any human language to which they are exposed, but their jaws make the pronunciation of certain sounds and syllables impossible. Thus, when gatormen trade with humans, trollkin, and other mammalian races that have no knowledge of Quor-gar, they must use a combination of sign and simple verbal phrases to communicate Religion Gatorman religion centers on the worship of powerful swamp spirits, the mightiest of which is Kossk, the great alligator. An entity they credit with their creation and that embodies primal hunger, blood thirst, and the hunt. Worship of Kossk is ubiquitous among gatormen throughout western Immoren. Though worship of this god is nearly universal among this people, specific rites and totemic depictions vary across the region. In some areas it is shown as a gatorman, but in others it appears as a bestial alligator, its gigantic maw open wide to swallow the world. However some Bokor prefer to invoke the power of minor spirits and only relying on Kossk when powerful magic is required. Gatorman rituals always involve blood sacrifice and the consumption of flesh; often this is the flesh of an enemy or a powerful beast. The sacrifices are meant to appease the many dark sprits that linger in the swamp so that they might bestow upon a bokor strength and magic. Devouring the flesh of an enemy is an important part of gatorman culture, for they believe that eating something (or someone) is the ultimate expression of dominance. When an enemy is devoured in a ritual fashion, it is believed the spirit of said enemy may linger and serve the bokor leading the ritual. Powerful bokors can therefore work greater and terrifying magic because they can draw upon the spirits of their many defeated enemies. Certain cannibalistic elements of gatorman ritual resemble those of extreme Devourer worshipers. The Circle Orboros believes Kossk to be a an aspect of the Devourer Wurm. Recently many have begun to worship Barnabas, the Lord of Blood. Once merely known as Bloody Barnabas he had created the Blindwater Congregation for his goal of achieving godhood. While he was considered a godlike figure by some Gatormen due to his age he achieved godhood when was slain in a battle and returned to life as the Lord of Blood. Fighting Forces The Gatormen do not have a single major army with the exception of the Blindwater Congregation to which most of the powerful warlocks belong. Gatorman warriors make up the heart of any bokor’s warband, other races while some allied or enslaved races such as bog trogs, are often pressed into service. The bog trogs are simply given the option of adding their strength to that of the gatormen or else nourishing it with their flesh. Despite their strained relationship, bog trogs and gatormen complement each other’s individual skills. Bog trogs bring numbers and an element of stealth and subtlety to gatorman warbands that is often lacking, and in turn, gatormen back up the bog trogs with their raw physical strength and toughness. References Category:Races